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A paragraph from an aspiring writer at Linyanti Bush Camp
The nocturnal life at Linyanti Bush Camp deserves special mention as I have never worked in an area that is so busy with special sightings such as aardvark, caracal, serval, civet, porcupine and leopard. These are animals that are not uncommon to see on a night drive, particularly in the dry Linyanti River. Some of these animals are very unique to see that even some of the best well travelled guides have yet to see. Contact your African travel specialist for last minute travel deals.
"Sitting quietly by the Linyanti River's edge, the sun hanging low in the sky, the hippos laughing to themselves out in the marsh as the birds cross the sky looking for somewhere to roost one is held in thrall by the serenity. The calm though, is suddenly shattered as the very ground seems to vibrate and as if from nowhere the elephants seems to pour out of bush racing to the water's edge to drink after a long hot dusty day feeding in the Mopani woodland.
The lions of Linyanti seem to be coming into their season of plenty as food and water becomes more and scarcer for their prey, forcing them into ever larger groups. Inevitably, those that get separated from the group are the most vulnerable and it is not uncommon for the resident coalition of three young males to pick off some of the younger stragglers in the breeding herds. Pairs of females have been seen around and one night a group of guests were treated to the end of a hunt as a lioness brought down a juvenile roan antelope for her three hungry cubs.
Happily the leopard we have been seeing seems to have had two cubs and she continues to agitate the baboons and we have been finding treed impala. Although we seem not to see the mother, the cubs themselves are much more gregarious and seem curious about our vehicles.
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These days no sunset seems complete without the silhouettes and accompanying dust of the more than 600 strong herd of buffalo that have decided to call Linyanti home for the season.
As the dry season progresses and water becomes scarcer the nocturnal activity at the waterhole is on the increase as natural enemies are forced to share space to get a drink. The quiet of the night is often shattered as the elephants trumpet to voice their displeasure at the presence of hyena so close to their babies"
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The highlights of an exciting seven day mobile tented safari in Botswana
I guided a mobile tented safari recently for a family of six from the Isle of Man. The safari was for 7 nights and 8 days staying 3 nights in Khwai community wildlife area, an Island sleep-out for one night and finishing off with 3 nights in Moremi.
On our first four days in the Khwai area, we saw 3 different sightings of leopard, one of which we saw stalking reedbuck and Impala, then we spent some time with a mother and her few weeks old cub, and our third sighting was of a young male resting peacefully in the woodland. We tracked some lionesses that we eventually found and watched for over an hour whilst they waited discreetly for an unsuspecting antelope. Herds of elephant along the Khwai River, journeys of giraffe with beautiful sunsets as backdrops were the order of every evening. We had the perfect campsite set under a line of camel thorn acacias.
Our next day "Island night" was a night with a difference, breaking away from main land and off to explore the islands and channels of the Okavango Delta. We met up with our boat at Xakanaxa and after a picnic lunch, we ended on the island before sunset; watching spectacular bird life at a major Heronry, where sometimes thousands of birds, different storks, herons and cranes can be seen roosting and nesting. It is always amazing to see and witness the pecking order of these birds and listen to the sounds they all make as they contest with each other for prime spots. It is equally amazing that some of these birds travel for up to five thousand miles to come back and repeat this amazing journey in the same place at about the same time of the year. For the Island night we camped on one of the Gudigwa islands where our hosts served a scrumptious meal cooked over an open fire. The next morning was a lazy boat ride out passing a big herd of buffalo and as a highlight seeing a long crested eagle perched above one of the channels.
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Back on mainland in Moremi we arrived at out next camp and we enjoyed another fabulous sunset on the river. We did well on the cats once again and saw at least another 4 different prides of lions, serval cat, leopard wrapped around a thick horizontal Leadwood branch with legs draped on either side. We had hyenas visit our camp each night, and went to bed with hippos grunting as our wake up calls. The other wildlife we saw was reedbuck, crocodiles, lechwe, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, duiker, honey badger, African wild cat, side striped jackal, slender mongoose, dwarf mongoose, banded mongoose to name a few.
This was a great safari combination as it is the perfect Botswana adventure experience and can be done at your request. Your African travel specialist will be able to advise you on availability and options available with extensions to our Linyanti Walking Safaris or onto Linyanti bush Camp.
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